1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an input/output (I/O) connector for a portable communications device. More specifically, the present invention discloses an I/O connector that more securely attaches to the portable communications device, and which is easier to detach.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Portable communications devices, such as cellular telephones, pagers, personal data assistants, etc., have become ubiquitous in recent years. Being portable, such devices frequently need to be charged, or connected to another device, such as a personal computer (PC) to upload or download information. The portable communications device is connected to such an external device via an input/output (I/O) connector. The I/O connector typically snaps onto an I/O port of the portable communications device, and should lock into position so that it does not become unintentionally unplugged from the portable communications device.
Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art I/O connector 10 being inserted into a portable communications device, a cellular telephone 90. The cellular telephone 90 has an I/O interface port 93 that is used to electrically interface the cellular telephone 90 with the I/O connector 10. The I/O interface port 93 has locking niches 92 with which the I/O connector 10 is secured to the cellular telephone 90.
The I/O connector 10 has an upper tine 12 and a lower tine 14 that protrude from a housing 20. These upper and lower tines 12, 14 are inserted into a locking niche 92 when the user attaches the I/O connector 10 to the cellular telephone 90. A notch 11 on the upper tine 12 engages with the locking niche 92 to lock the I/O connector 10 to the cellular telephone 90. The housing 20 of the I/O connector 10 has an upper surface 22. Into this upper surface 22 is a gap 23 that partially subtends a rectangle. This creates an elastic surface 24 that can be pressed downwards. It should be noted that, except for the electrical conductors, the I/O connector 10 is made entirely of plastic.
Please refer to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the I/O connector 10 along line 2--2 in FIG. 1. When the elastic surface 24 is pressed downwards in the direction of arrow 26, the underside of the elastic surface 24 presses against a bump 13 on the upper tine 12. Consequently, the upper tine 12 is also pressed downwards in the direction of arrow 26 towards the lower tine 14. In particular, the notch 11 is depressed downwards towards the lower tine 14. This action causes the notch 11 to disengage from the locking niche 92 of the cellular telephone 90, thus unlocking the I/O connector 10 from the cellular telephone 90.
The prior art design for the I/O connector 10, however, does not fasten as securely as would be desired into the locking niche 92. Please refer to FIGS. 3A to 3C. FIGS. 3A to 3C show a side view sequence diagram of the prior art I/O connector 10 being unintentionally detached from the locking niche 92. In FIG. 3A, the notch 11 on the upper tine 12 is seen to be firmly engaged with an upper portion 91 of the locking niche 92. The I/O connector 10 is thus firmly fastened to the cellular telephone 10. In FIG. 3B, the I/O connector 10 undergoes torque 28. The I/O connector 10 thus rotates about the niche 92. This rotation tends to cause the upper and lower tines 12, 14 to squeeze together inside the niche 92. Specifically, the notch 11 can no longer engage properly with the upper portion 91 of the locking niche 92. The I/O connector 10 becomes unintentionally unlocked from the niche 92. Consequently a force 29, as shown in FIG. 3C, is able to remove the I/O connector 10 from the locking niche 92, disconnecting the cellular telephone 90 from an external device.
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, two resisting forces must be overcome for a user to unlock the I/O connector 10. First, the user must press against the resisting force of the elastic surface 24. Secondly, the user must press against the resisting force of the upper and lower tines 12, 14. Together, these two resisting forces may make it unpleasantly difficult for a user to unlock the I/O connector 10 from the portable communications device, i.e., from the cellular telephone 90.